Well, It Worked in the Movies
by genericnamehere
Summary: America finally decides to confess his love to Russia, but it ends horribly. But that's okay, he's got the full force of Hollywood romance behind him as he tries to woo his love. Of course, everyone else has to get involved. human names used
1. Chapter 1

Ludwig shuffled his papers into a neat stack. "Well, if that's all settled, I think we can end—"

"Hold it!" Everyone groaned as Alfred slammed his hands on the table, nearly breaking it, and stood. "I have something important to say!" Ludwig rolled his eyes but motioned to the head of the table with a dismissive sweep of his arm. "The floor is yours. Hopefully it's more relevant than giant superheroes and aliens this time."

Alfred grinned and walked towards the front of the room, but stopped when he reached Ivan's seat, taking his hands and pulling the confused Russian to stand with him. "America is acting quite strange today, da." Ivan looked very much like he would like to sit back down, but he was also intrigued by the American's behavior, much like everyone else in the room.

Alfred just grinned, and refusing to let go of Ivan's hands, looked him in the eye. "We've had a rough history, you and I. But…everything that's happened has made me realize something…"

Arthur rolled his eyes, leaning back in his seat. "What is that daft fool going on about now?" He jumped a bit as Francis dropped his arm around his shoulder. "You mean you don't know? It's so obvious! Don't you ever watch any of Alfred's Hollywood movies?"

Ivan shifted nervously as he heard the other nations murmur amongst themselves, never taking their eyes off of them. What was Alfred planning? There was a determined gleam in the nation's eyes that he had never seen before.

"Ivan Braginski, I love you and I WILL marry you."

No one knows entirely for sure what happened next, but everyone remembers the chill that filled the room as Ivan's mood darkened in ways it never had before, and the moment he pulled back, punching Alfred so hard he stumbled back a few feet before passing out.


	2. Chapter 2

Matthew rolled his eyes as he let himself into his brother's bedroom. Despite it being the middle of the day, the room was dark; curtains closed firmly, lights off, and there was music wafting from the radio his brother's iPod was currently hooked up to.

"Come on, Al. You haven't gotten out of bed in a week, and your country needs you, and…" He blinked a few times as he listened to the song on the mp3 player. "Are…are you listening to Taylor Swift?" There was a choked sob from under the bed, and Matthew rolled his eyes as he reached over, pulling the blankets back, only mildly surprised there weren't mascara tracks down his brother's cheeks. At least the black eye was healing nicely.

"But…she's the only one who understands me!" Matthew sighed and reached over, turning off the player, then went to the window, smirking as Alfred brought a hand up, wincing from the sudden light.

"You're being so pathetic! You're lucky no one else has stopped by to visit this week, or you'd lose all your credibility! I thought you were supposed to be the hero?"

Alfred sniffled and choked back a sob as he buried himself back in his pillow, mumbling, "'f course 'm a hero…"

Matthew walked over and sat on the side of the bed. "Well you certainly aren't acting like one. I can't believe you're so worked up over a failed prank. Really, it was so obvious, of course he was going to see…through…" He trailed off as he noticed Alfred staring at him with a strange seriousness. "…what?"

"Prank? Who said anything about a prank! This is serious business! You can't just joke about love!" Alfred was sitting up now, somehow looking affronted and serious with red puffy eyes, which Matthew decided was at least better than pathetic and emo.

"Since when are you in love with Ivan? I'm not sure if you recall that whole Cold War between you two? Just a few months ago, you accused him of invading one of your states and flipped out on him! I don't know what you're thinking, but it doesn't exactly translate into 'I love you' you know?"

Alfred fell silent, taking this in. Of course just outright proposing wouldn't have worked. Sure, it made perfect sense to him, but he couldn't fault his dear Ivan for the confusion. Matthew was right, he had to show him this wasn't some cheap prank, and his emotions were real. "Well, then…I'll just have to show him my love is real!"

Matthew just stared as he watched Alfred jump out of bed and start throwing on clothes. His single-mindedness scared him sometimes. Of one thing he was certain. He'd have to call Francis: hilarity was bound to ensue.


	3. Chapter 3

Ivan frowned as he sat in the back of the limo with his boss. They had just finished a meeting in France and he was eager to go home and get some sleep, but something was holding up the traffic to the airport in a complete and total standstill. He looked over to his boss, who nodded, and got out of the car, as many other irritated drivers seemed to be doing.

Matthew looked through the binoculars he had with him and smirked. "Thanks for your help with this Francis. I'm sure it means a lot to my brother." Francis nodded as he pulled the binoculars over to see for himself what was going on below.

"But of course my dear Mathieu. When it comes to matters of the heart, I will always lend a helping hand! Though, I wonder. What is it exactly that your brother is intending on doing?"

Matthew smirked as he heard the marching band his brother flew in start playing. "Probably not what I see happening."

Alfred looked at his watch and nodded, he'd be stuck here by now. He turned to the marching band's conductor and nodded, then pulled over his microphone as they started playing.

_So you're on the floor, at 54  
Think you can last - at the Palace  
Does your body go to the to and fro?  
But tonight's the night - or didn't you know  
That Ivan meets G.I. Joe_

He tried his tricks- that Ruskie bear  
The United Nations said it's all fair  
He did the radiation - the chemical plague  
But he could not win - with a cossack spin

The Vostok Bomb - the Stalin strike  
He tried every move - he tried to hitch hike  
He drilled a hole - like a Russian star  
He made every move in his repertoire 

Ivan walked over to join the rest of the crowd, and was thankful he was much taller than the Parisians as he got to see quite clearly who was the cause of the hold up. He started working through the crowd, but stopped as he listened to the lyrics, a scowl crossing his features. Alfred grinned as he saw Ivan working through the crowd. It was working! Thank god, it was SOOO hard finding a song with his name in it. Really, he'll have to do something about that.

_When Ivan meets G.I. Joe_

Now it was G.I. Joe's turn to blow  
He turned it on - cool and slow  
He tried a payphone call to the Pentagon  
A radar scan - a leviathan

He wiped the Earth - clean as a plate  
What does it take to make a Ruskie break?  
But the crowd are bored and off they go  
Over the road to watch China blow!

When Ivan meets G.I. Joe 

Alfred let the last note trail off, then looked to Ivan who had finally made his way up beside him. "Oh, hey Ivan! So now will you ma-" He never got to finish his statement as Ivan wordlessly drew back and punched him, then stalked off as he fell to the ground unconscious. Matthew and Francis, still watching from their rooftop, broke into hysterics, and pulled out their phones. If this was only the beginning, they knew a few more people who'd want to be in the audience.

*************  
It really was hard to find a song with the name "Ivan" in it, but Rhapsody is wonderful. Song is "Ivan Meets GI Joe" by The Clash.


	4. Chapter 4

Alfred wiped the sweat from his face with his shirt as he finished working and looked up at the sky, bringing a hand up to block the sun.

"How does it look from up there, Tony?" The alien gave a quick nod and a thumbs-up before hurriedly returning to the ground.

The papers were bound to be filled with articles about UFO sightings and the accompanying "crop circle" tomorrow, but he was happy to help his friend. The two headed inside to have a lunch of hamburgers and lemonade to celebrate a job well done, and then Alfred had to shower before rushing to work. He had an important meeting to get to after all.

Ivan sighed as he looked out the window of the plane. He was accompanying his boss to America to discuss potential cooperation on the whole Iran mess. He didn't really want to though. Ever since that summit meeting when Alfred made the joke about wanting to marry him in front of everyone, he had been acting very strange.

Well, so far he only did that thing in Paris with the terrible song, but that just hammered in the point. Alfred was known for being brash and oblivious, but at least it usually seemed like he had good intentions. The "Commie" remarks and jokes about his size; these he is used to, can reply to with ease. This "I love you and want to marry you" joke? Not so much.

It's not that he hated the nation, far from it really. Sure, they had their wars and past aggressions, but even while they were fighting, Alfred always cared about Ivan's people and did what he could to provide some aid to them. He was all warm smiles and soft blue eyes that reflected the sky he loved to fly with his eagles in, endless in depth. How nice it must be, to be young and carefree, to never have known the scorn of a broken heart that he can make such easy jokes about it.

He glanced down at the American pastures below, as he always did to enjoy their beauty, then frowned, slamming the window cover shut.

Matthew laughed as he read the link that Francis had just sent him and anyone else he could think of. The headline said enough to elicit chuckles, but it was the picture and the article that did him in.

UFO SPOTTED IN WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA

(Associated Press – Carlisle, PA) – While UFO sightings are usually explained away with some kind of logic, the government will have a hard time explaining the crop circles to go with this one. Shortly after the UFO was reported, various airline passengers reporting flying over what appeared to be a heart with the message "Alfred loves Ivan."

Authorities are chalking it up to a harmless prank, but with the message appearing at the same time as a UFO, and seemingly overnight, some citizens remain skeptical.

"It's just not right!" says Bob Buddy, 56, the farmer who initially sent pictures of the UFO. "We don't want no aliens comin' here illegally and spreading their gayness like a disease!"


	5. Chapter 5

_As I looked at my friends standing before me, I wondered if they'd really be able to pull this off. We'd been training for nearly a month now since I enlisted their help, and I really didn't think that their hearts were in it. But, love was on the line, and I was willing to risk anything._

Arthur's eye twitched slightly as he watched Alfred standing in front of them, a hand on his chin and a thoughtful look on his face.

"You idiot! Just how many of those ridiculous movies of yours have you been watching?! You were watching Big Fish again, weren't you?" Alfred blinked and looked over.

"Yeah! I was just double checking my list of plans last night, and that was the last one I watched before I fell asleep! How did you know, Iggy?"Matthew sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Because you have been narrating out loud since we got here. Are you sure you've been getting enough sleep to do this?"

_Oh. That certainly explained all the barbed glares Iggy had been shooting my way, and why Francis kept trying to hide a laugh behind his-_

"Damn it, Alfred! That's it! I'm leaving!" Arthur turned to stalk off, but was stopped by Francis moving his arms around him and pulling him back.

"Come now, Arthur. Our little Alfred is in love! Of course we should be nourishing and enriching his efforts, non? Besides, his boss would not let him borrow pilots, so he needs us! Now, let's move to the planes! Onwards! For love!"

_I love that ma-_

"ALFRED!"

_Whoops._

It had been more than a month since Alfred's last prank on him, and Ivan was confused. Maybe that wasn't a good word for it, but he knew he should feel relieved that he had given up with this horrible trick. He wasn't; he was almost somewhat upset about. He didn't realize that he had been entertaining a glimmer of hope that Alfred was sincere in his efforts until it became clear that he was not.

He was startled out of his thoughts as alarms starting going off through out the building. An invasion? But he was trying so hard to make friends with everyone! He hurried outside to see what was going on, and hearing the roar of jets overhead, looked up with everyone else. Four…were those American Fighters? So it wasn't true after-…what were they doing? When the jets finished their task, they quickly flew off into the horizon as Ivan's boss made an angry call to America. Ivan just stood, looking up at the sky, as the rest of the country panicked around him. What the jets had left behind was a message: I love you, Ivan.

Ivan couldn't help but smile slightly, standing outside until the wind finally blew the message in the clouds away. As he turned to head inside, he pulled out his pipe. He had to make a quick trip to America.


	6. Chapter 6

Alfred sighed as he looked up at the ceiling from the hospital bed he was laying in.

"I just don't understand it! What am I doing wrong? Ow! Hey, don't move that!" Francis looked up from where he was drawing obscene images on one of his casts.

"Pardon, mon cheri! I will be more careful!" Arthur rolled his eyes as he watched Francis go back to his work. The aftermath of the skywriting incident had been instantaneous and painful for all of them. While the others had gotten off with only a few scrapes and bruises, only Alfred had been dealt the wrath of the pipe. All of them were admonished with long lectures from their bosses afterwards. It was an international embarrassment! Arthur wasn't sure how Alfred's boss managed to placate Ivan's, but the newspapers showed the American and Russian leaders laughing the whole thing off. Arthur imagined it had something to do with the fact that they both seemed to find Alfred's single-minded crush on Ivan and way of showing it amusing, and Ivan's reactions downright hilarious. After everything that had happened thus far, one would think that it would be apparent it was time to throw in the towel, hang your hat on the rack, stop beating a dead horse, and all that jazz. But no, this was Alfred. Common sense never did come easily to the lad. At least he had been getting more sleep and stopped narrating out loud.

"Uhm-…" Everyone looked over at Matthew, who had been updating his blog on the events of Alfred's Great Chase, and reading comments that the other nations had been posting. "Feliciano suggested that you're being too broad in your actions. He wrote, 'Ve~, when you're trying to get a pretty girl, you have to make her feel like the only other person in the world.' Not that Ivan's a pretty girl, but…you get the idea."

Arthur and Francis looked at Alfred, who was silent with a serious look in his eyes as he regarded his brother. Of course he must be mad. Matthew just admitted that they were making an international spectacle of something he was obviously taking quite seriously. It was good that his leg was in a harness that would keep him from-

"Tell him he's a GENIUS! Of course! How could I have overlooked that?! The guy never gets the girl in the movies until he starts taking it out of the public focus and making it all about her!" Of course, this was Alfred. I think the absence of common sense was already mentioned. Francis moved off the bed quickly as Alfred began jerking and struggling to free himself from the harnesses and the bed, apparently suddenly oblivious to the pain he was just in. "I need to change my list! Watch my movies again! I've got to get to Russia!"

The other three occupants of the room looked at each other before they began the struggle to hold him down. All Arthur could do as he dodged an errant fist was wonder: why couldn't he ever do things normally?


	7. Chapter 7

Ivan threw his arm over his eyes as he lay in bed. It had been a while since he heard from Alfred, though it was to be expected. Perhaps he had gone overboard in his revenge, but he was quite aware of the watching eyes of the world. Alfred may be oblivious and lack any sense of shame, but he did not. It was embarrassing the way he was doing everything on such a grand scale, interrupting people's daily lives, and for what? For Ivan? Impossible. For his own perverse pleasure, more likely.

He rolled over on his side with a sigh. And now it was just all getting worse. Everyone was laughing at him. They didn't even try to hide it behind his back. His boss would always turn to conceal his snickers when he walked into the room. His own boss! He shifted again, rolling onto his back. And yet, he couldn't help but hope that the American would come up with something else. Even if it was just a joke, he was putting so much time and effort into planning everything and organizing people to help him. All that time was being spent on Ivan, and Ivan alone. He rolled over again then blinked, looking over his shoulder at his window.

_love I get so lost, sometimes  
days pass and this emptiness fills my heart  
when I want to run away  
I drive off in my car  
but whichever way I go  
I come back to the place you are _

Outside Ivan's house, Alfred had gotten out of his SUV and climbed up on the roof (with some effort), then pulled his old cassette player out of the passenger seat, popping in a tape and turning it on. With some more fumbling around-this was really hard to do with one of his arms still in a sling-he managed to stand, holding the cassette player over his head.

_I knew nothing said I love you like Peter Gabriel, so I threw caution to the wind…the wind was really cold in Russia this time of year. I should have brought a better jacket. But then it would have been harder to move. It was hard enough carrying the cassette player over my head. I couldn't believe I still had one. All I could do now was wait. Oh right, I had to do that 'head noddy I'm going to try to use telekinesis to get you to come to the window' thing. Alright. NOW all I could do was wait._

Francis leaned up from the backseat of the SUV over Matthew's shoulder, watching the feed as he recorded what his brother was doing.

"Should we tell him he's narrating out loud again, dear Mathieu?" He blinked as he was kicked to the side. Arthur scowled, moving his foot back, rubbing his arms.

"I've given up. Once an idiot, always a bloody idiot. Why are we even here, anyway?!" Matthew sighed as he continued recording.

"Someone had to drive, and I didn't think I'd be able to drag him back alone."

_all my instincts, they return  
and the grand facade, so soon will burn  
without a noise, without my pride  
I reach out from the inside_

in your eyes  
the light the heat  
in your eyes  
I am complete  
in your eyes  
I see the doorway to a thousand churches  
in your eyes  
the resolution of all the fruitless searches  
in your eyes  
I see the light and the heat  
in your eyes  
oh, I want to be that complete  
I want to touch the light  
the heat I see in your eyes 

Ivan rolled on his back, crossing his arms over his chest. At first he thought someone was just playing their music too loudly, but now, he felt compelled to get up and go to the window. So he did. As he pushed the window open, he was met with conflicting feelings of relief and annoyance to see the American. He pushed aside the relief though, reminding himself for what felt like the thousandth time that hour alone, this was just a prank.

"Alfred, you are injured and it is freezing, da. Why is it you are standing on your car playing that ridiculous music?"

Alfred grinned, and to Ivan it seemed like that alone made the snow around the house begin to melt.

"I'm just a guy, standing in front of a…well…a guy…asking him to love him!" He just continued to smile as Ivan stared at him before disappearing back into his room. The grin faded though as he caught sight of the pipe flying for his head too late to be able to dodge it.

" _In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel. Bonus loves for identifying the movie this scene was from. Both movies._


	8. Chapter 8

Ivan turned off the stove and carried his dinner over to the table. Ever since that morning, when Alfred had been playing that ridiculous song outside his window, he couldn't help but think of the American. True, he had been thinking of him before that, but this was different. It was just that moment, when he went to the window, and it seemed like his presence was the only thing that mattered. Ivan never felt like that before. He wasn't entirely sure why he threw the pipe at Alfred. He settled for being afraid of how the nation made him feel, not that he would ever admit that to anyone else. He was drawn out of his thoughts by a knock at the door and sighed. Probably someone from his boss's office.

Matthew laughed as he read some of the comments on his blog. He had posted the video as soon as they dropped Alfred on the bed in the hotel room. Then Arthur and Francis had left, claiming they needed to try that whole vodka to warm up thing, leaving Matthew in charge of keeping his brother in line. He glanced down at the clock on his computer. Really? Had he been on computer that long? He had been having a great conversation in the Great Chase chatroom about Alfred's movies, and his secret list. There were bets on what he would do next, and what would actually work.

For all his off the wall plans, and dragging him, Arthur, and Francis along with him, Matthew really had no idea what Alfred was going to do until he was doing it most of the time. He wondered if Alfred knew half the time, or if the list was just a ruse to hide the fact that he was making it up as he went along.

Speaking of Alfred, he should try to bring him back to consciousness and get some dinner in him. It seemed that the other two wouldn't be back until the bars closed. He looked over to the hotel bed and paled as he noticed the blankets pushed aside to reveal the absence of his charge. He was going to get in so much trouble for this.

Ivan blinked as he opened the door and saw Alfred standing there, same stupid grin on his face, with a new bandage wrapped around his head to join the others. He was holding the cassette deck again, and when Ivan opened the door, he had pushed play. Ivan noted that it seemed to be an American Christmas song. But it was only November. Before he could say anything, Alfred was holding up a sign.

_'Just say it's Christmas carolers.'_ Ivan raised a brow. Who would he tell? There was no one at his house with him. But, he was curious to see where this was going, so he decided to humor Alfred, and looked over his shoulder.

"Is just the Christmas carolers, da." When he looked back at Alfred, he was pulling out a new sign. Why couldn't he just talk to him?

_'Just because it's Christmas,'_ Ivan nodded for him to go on, not even bothering to point out it was nowhere close to the holiday in either of their countries.

_'(And in America, you tell the truth at Christmas),'_ Ivan raised a brow. Weren't you supposed to tell the truth all the time?

_'To me, you are perfect.'_ Ivan looked up from the sign to meet Alfred's eyes. They were warm and inviting, just like his smile. He glanced down as he pulled out another sign.

_'It is freaking cold out here.'_ Well, yes, it was that.

_'And my wasted heart will love you until you look like this…' _Ivan wasn't sure he wanted to know, but nodded for Alfred to pull the next card.

_'Did I mention it is really friggin' cold out here?_' It was amazing how his scatterbrainedness worked its way into something he had obviously planned.

The next card had a picture of…a mummy? Ivan certainly hoped he never looked like that.

_'On second thought, I'd love you even if you did look like that.'_ The song ended, and Alfred turned off the tape, leaning over and kissing Ivan's cheek before turning and heading down the street. Ivan blinked, bringing a hand up to his cheek, dumbfounded. After a moment, he broke out of his stupor, and hurried out of the house, looking around. For being as beaten up as he was, Alfred moved quickly. He spotted him at the end of the street and called out for him wait, running to catch up with him as Alfred stopped and turned to watch him.

When he caught up to him, Ivan just stood, looking down at him. He wasn't entirely sure why he had run after him. He noticed that Alfred's lips had a faint blue tinge to them, and he was trying to hide the fact that he was shivering. He_ had_ said it was cold, didn't he? Ivan sighed and took off his scarf, moving it around Alfred's neck, making sure to tie it the most effective way.

"You are so stupid. If it is so cold out, you have to dress appropriately. What kind of hero freezes to death, da?" He brought a hand up, and ran his thumb lightly over Alfred's bottom lip before he could reply. He licked his own lips and swallowed before leaning in.

Alfred smiled, allowing his eyes to close. Finally! His efforts had finally paid off! He leaned in then blinked, stumbling forward as Ivan suddenly pulled away, looking down the street as Arthur and Francis stumbled out of nearby bar hanging off each other and singing loudly. Damn it! He looked up at Ivan, but the Russian was already more than halfway back to his house. Alfred sighed, hanging his head in defeat, then smiled fondly as he brought his hands up to the scarf around his neck. He would take what he could get for now. Around the corner, Matthew swore as he turned off his camera. Now he'd have to try to get the morons home.


	9. Chapter 9

Ivan thanked the driver and got out of the car. He was eager to get inside and turn on the TV. By now it would be the evening of Election Day in America, and he hoped the news would unwittingly catch Alfred on TV as part of their election coverage. Perhaps it was foolish of him to get his hopes up, but Ivan wanted to see if he would wear the scarf he had given him just two days earlier. The thought disappeared from his mind as he stepped inside, however.

Something was off. He reached in his jacket to pull out his pipe as he scanned the room, but stopped as he saw a small vase carrying a single sunflower on the coffee table. Torn between being angry that someone had broken into his house while he was gone and intrigued by flower on the table, he walked over picking up the card was beside it. He smiled a bit as he recognized the writing, all in capital Roman letters, just like those ridiculous cards Alfred had made him read the other day.

'Go upstairs.' That seemed simple enough. In his room, there was another vase, with another sunflower, and another card.

'Open your window.' Ivan raised a brow. He knew better than to think that Alfred would be waiting outside for him. No democratic nation would ever be absent on the day of their country's elections, especially not America. Not sure what to expect, Ivan walked over to his window, shoving the curtain aside.

_"You guys are amazing! Thanks for all the help!" Alfred smiled brightly as he watched all his friends working together like a well-oiled machine. There was no way he could have pulled this off on his own. Truthfully, he had been a little mad when he found out his brother was mostly (even though he denied that – "I swear, Al! It's only like…half my motivation!") helping him to get fodder for his "America is an Idiot" blog._

_But, as it turned out, it was more helpful than anything. Who knew so many people wanted to see him succeed? Yeah, he read the posts. He knew they all had money on the line, but whatever. Their gain was his gain. There was no way he'd be able to remove all the snow, turn the soil enough to keep the flowers' roots from being shocked frozen, and plant as many flowers as he needed to in the limited time he had. Not with all these slings and bandages getting in the way._

His phone beeped and he pulled it out, reading the message from Yao. Ivan and his boss were on their way to the airport to head back to Russia. He looked up and grinned to see Ludwig handing the last sunflower to Feliciano, who happily put it in the ground as Kiku started to move the soil back around it. He looked over his shoulder as Gilbert, Francis, and Antonio returned with enough food to feed the army of nations. He then looked out at the field of yellow that surrounded them. It had taken a lot of effort to find enough flowers, but he was sure it was worth it. Satisfied, he turned to join his friends to eat before he had to catch his own plane.

It was too bad that he wouldn't have time to find out Ivan's reaction until the next world meeting. He loved his elections, but between the constant changing of the guard, and the whirlwind of activity that went with it, he always lost his equilibrium for a few months. He wanted to be at his best the next time he saw the Russian.  
  
Ivan's eyes widened as he looked out the window at the sea of sunflowers that had invaded his view. As far as he could see, even beyond his own property, the snow had disappeared and been replaced with the flowers he so loved. His vision had been completely divested of the cold hand of General Winter, right down the snow being removed from the largest rooftop to the smallest tree branch. It was, for lack of a better word, beautiful. He turned and hurried out of his room, running out the back door.

From the moment he set foot outside, he was surrounded in the warm golden glow of the flowers. The cold bite of the wind didn't seem to be able to reach him here; the flowers pushed it away, just like the thoughts of a warm smile and endless blue eyes warmed his lonely nights. His walk through the carefully made field quickly became a jog, then a run as he did something he hadn't thought he'd ever genuinely do again: he laughed.


	10. Chapter 10

Ivan closed his umbrella as he walked up the steps to the world summit meeting. It had been a few months since Alfred had planted the sunflowers in his yard, but the American had been absent from the world stage, as was to be expected with the confusion that always surrounded his change of boss. Today though, Ivan would finally have a chance to see him face to face and properly thank him for such a wonderful gift, and to tell him how he felt. He blinked out of his thoughts as Yong Soo ran up the stairs past him and pulled the door open.

"Come on, Russia! We're going to be late!" He then pulled a red rose out of his sleeve and stuck it in Ivan's hand. "Oh, right. I'm supposed to give this to you. Did you know that I invented roses?" Before Ivan had a chance to reply or push the flower back in his hand, the Korean was already gone. Such a strange character he was. He shook it off and went inside, putting his wet umbrella in a bin by the door. He felt something shaking behind him and turned, smiling.

"Oh, Toris! Eduard! Raivis! What a surprise, da? Usually you stay so far away from me at these meetings." It was obvious the trio were anxious to leave as they threw their roses at him and ran away. Ivan blinked as he fumbled to catch the flowers, which he noted were carefully stripped of their thorns. Confused, he turned to head to the coatroom to drop of his overcoat, which was drenched from just the few moments he had talked to Yong Soo. Could he call that a conversation? As he walked into the room, he was forced back by Vash and his sister walking out of it.

"Oh, there you are! You're running late, you know!" Ivan sighed as he nodded, and held out his hand, taking the flowers as they held them out to him and moved on their way.

By the time he finally reached the meeting room, Ivan was running out of room to hold anymore roses. It seemed everyone he came across had one for him. But, he had yet to see the one nation he was looking for.

"Hey, Ivan." There he was. Ivan hurriedly set the armful of roses down on the table and turned to face the man standing behind him.

"Hello, Alfred." He smiled as he noticed Alfred was wearing the scarf he had given him. This time, when Alfred walked over and took his hands in his, smiling up at him, Ivan smiled back in kind. There were no murmurs around them. Everyone had fallen silent as they waited for what they knew was coming.

"Ivan Braginski, I love you and-"

"NO! Stay away from my brother! He will not marry you! I won't allow it!" Everyone winced as a menacing figure appeared in the door.

They had forgotten about Natalya.

Alfred's eye twitched slightly as he pulled Ivan behind him, away from Natalya and the knife he knew she had on her person somewhere. "You could have picked a better time to show up, Belarus. Like never. Is this the thanks I get for all I did for you?" Natalya scoffed, flicking her hair over her shoulder before stalking in front of him, sticking her knife in his face.

"Thanks? Why should I give you any thanks? Here you are, trying to pull the rug out from under my feet! You knew I love dear Ivan, and yet you're playing this cruel trick on him!" Ivan pulled Alfred back out of the way of the blade as she stabbed at him.

Francis stood, with his hands on the table, he could not allow this travesty against true love to continue. "Mais, ma cherie, Alfred has been working so hard to show your brother his love for him. Don't you think you should stand aside and let your brother be happy?" Natalya turned, to regard the other nations.

"Of course you all stand up for America! You're all in on it. You think I haven't seen the website?"

Ivan tapped Alfred's shoulder as the other nations shifted uncomfortably in their seats. "Alfred, what website is there? Is this how everyone seemed to know what has been going on all the time?" Alfred glanced over his shoulder at Ivan, who seemed calm on the surface, but the glimmers of doubt were already beginning to show in his eyes. Was his trust really so fragile?

"It's nothing, Ivan, really. It's just that-" Before Alfred could explain his brother's blog, Natalya cut in. She knew this game well. She would end this relationship before it started, just like all the others.

"Don't let him fool you brother. I'll tell you exactly what it is." She smirked as she tapped her knife in her hand, before tossing it at the table the other nations were seated at. There was a loud squeal as Matthew looked down between his legs, where the blade had dug into his chair barely missing his vital regions. "That one has been conspiring with your dear Alfred. They have been recording everyone of America's endeavors and posting the stories on a blog titled 'Alfred's Great Chase.' And do you know what they've been doing on that blog, dear brother?"  
Alfred winced slightly as he felt Ivan's grip on his shoulder tighten.

"Ivan, don't listen to her! It's not like that!"

Natalya sneered. "The whole world has been laughing at you, dear brother. This has all been nothing but a big joke. They've been betting on it! Will Russia fall for America's scheme this time? What will America try next?" She walked around Alfred, who was glaring at her. It wasn't like he could say anything. She would always cut him and anyone else off, and by now it seemed like everyone in the room knew it. She placed a hand on Ivan's arm, leaning up by his ear.

"America…Really? How could you believe he honestly cares about you? Have you forgotten his history? He has betrayed everyone who has ever dared to trust him, to dare think he could love them. And what has happened? Look around the room, brother! He has the whole world at his beck and call! He has raised their hopes at one time, and then trampled them. You have watched this! He has taken your loved ones away from you! He's just using you like all the others have. The hero? The only one he is a hero to, is himself!"

Alfred winced. If ever there was a complete and total misinterpretation and bastardization of his history, that had to be it. He felt Ivan's hand leave his shoulder and turned to face him quickly. He felt his insides crumble. The man, normally so large and imposing, looked so small at that moment with a hand over his face and his eyes closed in pain. Sure, he didn't know everything about Ivan, but he had pulled out all the books on Russian history he could find (and yes, he read them all, too). He knew that everyone the Russian loved had turned on him in the end, and here was Natalya using that to convince him that he would do the same to the one man he has ever dared to love. He reached out to take his hand.

"Ivan, listen, you know that's not-" He was cut off when Ivan slapped his hand away, looking at him with such hurt in his eyes. Alfred ached to see it. Natalya, on the other hand, smiled.

"See there? But do not worry, dear brother, because I have always loved-" She yelped a bit as Ivan forcefully shoved her off.

Ivan's mind was in turmoil. Every painful memory was being brought to the surface. Everyone he dared to trust, everyone he dared to love. Their backs turning, facing down their guns and blades. Every time he and Alfred fought and those blue eyes narrowed in disgust at the sight of him, every time those blue eyes were warm and inviting, and a hand was reaching out to him. Everyone was watching him, judging him, laughing at him. He couldn't…it wasn't…His mind was…

Unable to think clearly when everyone's eyes were on him, he did the only think he could think of. He ran.


	11. Chapter 11

~ 12 ~

Everyone stared in silence at the door that Ivan had fled out of. Alfred and Natalya took a moment to glare at each other, before they took off after him.

Arthur rolled his eyes. Really, this was just more drama and insanity than it was worth, but the world be damned if all his time and effort on this were wasted in the end. "Bloody hell…" He stood and looked at everyone else. "Well, what are you waiting for? We have to make sure Alfred catches up to him first!"

Francis threw an arm over his shoulder with glee. "Ah, Angleterre! You do understand the wonder of love!" He looked at everyone else. "You heard the man! Let's go!"

Alfred frowned as he ran blindly into the street, looking around for where Ivan could have gone. How hard was it to lose someone as big as he was? He frowned as he barely dodged a car, getting a faceful of muddy water. Great. Come on, think Alfred, think! You've put too much work into this to let some jilted wannabe lover get in your way! He wasn't sure how it came to him, and he didn't quite care. He looked over his shoulder in time to see Matthew and …was it Katyusha? He could never remember Ukraine's human name…well, they grabbed each of Natalya's arms as everyone else caught up, with various looks of displeasure aimed her way. Man, he'd hate to be her right now. Damn.

"Alfred, you git!" Alfred blinked and looked over at Arthur, who was standing with his arms crossed. "What are you just standing there like an idiot for? Where else could he be going in a situation like this?" …Well…Alfred figured if he was that confused, he'd want to go home. And to do that...Alfred turned and ran towards the airport.

Ivan slowed to a stop when he reached the airport and just looked up at the sky, letting the rain fall on his face. Crazy as she was, his sister was right. He had let himself be taken in so easily with all of Alfred's stunts. But, there was just something that didn't sit right with that either. Right before Ivan ran, he couldn't help but notice the look of hurt in Alfred's eyes. He knew that look well, because he had seen it reflecting back from his mirror at him so many times before. It was just…everything was going too fast for him to keep up. He would go home, it would be better that way. He turned to head inside, when he heard a familiar voice calling behind him.

"Ivan! Wait! Please! Don't go!" Alfred ran out into the street, jumping over a car that slammed on its breaks to avoid hitting him. His hair was matted down to his face from the rain, his clothes were wet and streaked with dirty water from cars splashing past him. He could hardly see through all the water on Texas, and he didn't care. All that mattered was stopping Ivan before he could leave; before he could confess his feelings to him once and for all. He stopped Ivan as soon as he got to him, by taking hold of his arms. "Ivan…I…I'm sorry, I know that we haven't had the best past together, but…please, I'm begging you, here. Believe me when I say I love you, and…and there's no one I'd rather be with than you."

Ivan looked down at him and frowned slightly. "But why so suddenly? You never even gave any indication you felt this way towards me, da? Isn't it usually customary to ask someone on a date before you declare you want to marry them?" He frowned a little more when Alfred gave a breathless laugh. He didn't see what was so funny about this.

"A date…? You didn't think I was serious because…?" Alfred couldn't help but to laugh a bit to himself. Who knew that Ivan went for that kind of thing? "I…I'm sorry, Ivan. It's…" He took a breath and looked up him. He smiled when Ivan ran his fingers over the lenses of his glasses, wiping the water away so he could see him clearly. "You're right. I shouldn't have just dropped all of this on you like I did. It's just…when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible, you know?"

Ivan looked down at Alfred, taking that in and thinking about it. Maybe he was setting himself up for heartbreak again, but maybe this could be something real this time. Could he let himself take that risk? "You don't even know me."

Alfred smiled, and he hoped that alone could convey how serious he was about this to him. "I have the rest of my life to find out. If…you'll let me." He let out a breath of relief as Ivan moved a hand to his cheek and leaned in.

"Oh Alfred. What is it you say in your movies? Ah…you had me at hello."

And as their lips finally met in the kiss Alfred had spent many nights dreaming of, the rest of the world just faded away into the background til only the two of them remained.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_And that's my story. You know, it turns out love is a funny thing. It just comes up and bites you in the ass when it thinks you aren't watching. And most of the time, it's right. If someone told me even twenty years ago that I would be madly, insanely, head over heels in love with someone that I had regarded as an enemy for the greater part of my life, I'd have laughed them out of the room. But, here we were, standing at the altar, each carrying a bouquet of sunflowers and roses because we couldn't agree on who would be the bride._

"Alfred."

_Of course, the other thing about love is that it's contagious. I didn't have to turn around to know that Francis and Iggy were probably sitting a little close to just be friends._

The couple jumped apart so that there was a seat between them.

"Alfred…"

_And Mattie was just waiting for the pastor to get this thing started so that he could have that best man's dance with Ivan's best lady, Kat--Yet--Ukraine._

Said lady giggled as Matthew turned bright red and tried to disappear.

"Alfred!"

_In case you were wondering, Gilbert ended up winning the bet. He didn't seem all that surprised. Something about when you're as awesome as him, shit just seems to fall into place... Oh, right. And Natalya? Well, once she got over her lament at losing her brother's hand in marriage (not that she ever had it anyway), she became our biggest fan. Well, when she wasn't chasing after Toris anyway. Yeah… Love was really just popping up all over the place. Or maybe it was already there, and we just never took the time to see it._

"Oh would someone just shut him up already! I can't stand when he does this!"

Ivan sighed and nudged Alfred's arm. "You're narrating out loud again."

_Whoops._


End file.
